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8th Grade Classroom Corner

Submitted by gadams on Fri, 10/06/2017 - 9:38am

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to chat with a group of 8th graders and talk about how their final year at St. Matthew is going. Immediately, I received the response, "It's going by way too fast!" Another jumped into the conversation by saying, "This year has been so much fun." A new student added, "I really like how nice everyone is to each other."

As they complete their final stretch of their St. Matthew journey, our 8th graders are extremely busy as they prepare for their future high school careers. Currently, they are in the process of starting their final research paper. This week, students submitted their outlines and supporting note cards for evaluation. Writing this paper requires our students to travel through the entire research/writing process takes approximately three months to complete the finished product. It is a long and grueling journey, but one that develops many lifelong skills and benefits.

In Math, Mr. Topel is also a strong supporter of the "flipped classroom" concept, which involves him making videos of himself teaching the math lesson so that students can preview the lesson the night before and ask questions the next day in class. Many parents have joked about how peculiar it is hearing Mr. Topel's voice coming from their kitchen late at night as their child is working on homework.

One of the reasons we were awarded "Exemplary School" status is due to our apologetics curriculum, and Mr. Topel is a critical component of this equation. Through the study of apologetics, students will learn how to articulate and defend their faith. Eighth grade also provides numerous opportunities for our students to live out their faith by putting it into action. A few weeks ago, they traveled with the seventh graders to the Forgotten Harvest Farm in Fenton where they spent four hours handpicking 15,900 lbs of corn from several cornfields.
In a few weeks, they will travel to Detroit to help load train cars of donated goods that Lutheran World Relief
will use for hurting people in this country and overseas.

The ultimate highlight of eighth grade is the traditional Class Trip at the end of the year. Last Monday, the family votes were cast, and we can now officially announce that this year's class has selected to travel to New York City! We look forward to everything that the Lord has planned for us during this amazing adventure to "The Big Apple"!

As I was concluding my talk with my eighth graders, one student expressed, "I just love it here and I really don't want to leave in June!"